January 28
Template:Linked-title is the 28th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 337 days remaining (338 in leap years).
Events
- 1077 - Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.
- 1521 - Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
- 1547 - Henry VIII dies. His nine year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler of England.
- 1573 - Articles of Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
- 1754 - Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word serendipity.
- 1760 - Pownal, Vermont created by Benning Wentworth as one of the New Hampshire Grants.
- 1788 - The first penal colony is founded at Botany Bay, Australia.
- 1813 - Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
- 1820 - Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovered the Antarctic continent approaching the Antarctic coast.
- 1846 - Battle of Aliwal, India won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
- 1855 - The first locomotive runs from the Atlantic to the Pacific on the Panama Railway.
- 1871 - Franco-Prussian War: France surrenders, ending the war.
- 1878 - The Yale News becomes the first daily, college newspaper in the United States.
- 1887 - In a snowstorm at Fort Keogh, Montana, the world's largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38 cm) wide and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.
- 1902 - The Carnegie Institution is founded in Washington, DC with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
- 1909 - United States troops leave Cuba after being there since the Spanish-American War.
- 1915 - An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
- 1916 - Louis D. Brandeis becomes the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
- 1917 - United States ends search for Pancho Villa.
- 1917 - Municipally owned streetcars take to the streets of San Francisco.
- 1918 - Finnish Civil War: Rebels seized control of the capital, Helsinki, and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
- 1921 - A symbolic Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to honour the unknown dead of World War I.
- 1922 - Knickerbocker Storm, Washington DC's biggest snowfall, causes Washington DC's greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theater collapses.
- 1932 - Japan occupies Shanghai.
- 1933 - The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and by a group of Cambridge University Students and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement of the formal Indian Independence Act 1947 during World War II
- 1935 - Iceland becomes the first country to legalize abortion.
- 1938 - The first ski tow in America begins operation in Vermont.
- 1938 - The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195.
- 1945 - World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
- 1946 - Bluenose, Canada's greatest sailing ship, founders on a Haitian reef.
- 1952 - Derek Bentley hanged for murder.
- 1958 - Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate begin their murder spree with the killings of her parents and infant sister.
- 1982 - US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces after 42 days of captivity under the Red Brigades.
- 1986 - Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission (Space Shuttle Challenger disaster) - Space Shuttle Challenger breaks apart 73 seconds after liftoff killing all seven astronauts onboard, including Christa McAuliffe, who was supposed to be the first teacher in space. Failure blamed on leaking Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster.
- 1990 - The San Francisco 49ers defeat the Denver Broncos 55-10 to win Super Bowl XXIV.
- 1994 - The first trial of accused murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
- 1996 - The Dallas Cowboys defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17 to win Super Bowl XXX.
- 1998 - Gunmen hold at least 400 children and teachers hostage for several hours at an elementary school in Manila, Philippines.
- 2001 - The Baltimore Ravens defeat the New York Giants 34-7 to win Super Bowl XXXV.
- 2002 - TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia killing 92.
- 2004 - Lord Hutton publishes his report into the death of UN weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly.
- 2007 - Richard Hammond returns to Top Gear after a serious automobile crash in October 2006.
Births
- 1457 - King Henry VII of England (d. 1509)
- 1540 - Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (d. 1610)
- 1582 - John Barclay, Scottish writer (d. 1621)
- 1600 - Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)
- 1608 - Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
- 1611 - Johannes Hevelius, astronomer (d. 1687)
- 1622 - Adrien Auzout, French astronomer (d. 1691)
- 1701 - Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
- 1706 - John Baskerville, English printer (d. 1775)
- 1712 - Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shogun (d. 1761)
- 1717 - Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1774)
- 1719 - Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (d. 1749)
- 1755 - Samuel Thomas von Sömmering, German physician (d. 1830)
- 1784 - George Hamilton Gordon Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
- 1822 - Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
- 1833 - Charles George 'Chinese' Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)
- 1841 - Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-born explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
- 1853 - José Martí, Cuban revolutionary (d. 1895)
- 1855 - William Seward Burroughs I, American inventor (d. 1898)
- 1864 - Herbert Akroyd Stuart, English engineer - inventor of the first compression ignition engine.
- 1865 - Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1928)
- 1865 - Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, first president of Finland (d. 1952)
- 1873 - Colette, French writer (d. 1954)
- 1874 - Vsevolod Meyerhold, Russian theatre director (d. 1940)
- 1879 - Francis Picabia, French-born painter and poet (d. 1953)
- 1880 - Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer (d. 1970)
- 1884 - Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist (d. 1962)
- 1886 - Marthe Bibesco, Romanian writer (d. 1973)
- 1887 - Arthur Rubinstein, Polish pianist and conductor (d. 1982)
- 1890 - Robert Stroud, American convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)
- 1891 - Bill Doak, American baseball player (d. 1954)
- 1892 - Ernst Lubitsch, German-born film director (d. 1947)
- 1897 - Valentin Kataev, Russian writer (d. 1986)
- 1899 - Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (d. 1940)
- 1903 - Aleksander Kamiński, Polish writer (d. 1978)
- 1908 - Paul Misraki, French composer and songwriter (d. 1998)
- 1910 - John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
- 1910 - Arnold Moss, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1912 - Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
- 1922 - Robert W. Holley, American biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1993)
- 1927 - Ronnie Scott, British jazz tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner (d. 1996)
- 1927 - Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director (d. 2001)
- 1929 - Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinetist
- 1929 - Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-born artist
- 1933 - Jack Hill, American film director
- 1934 - Mitr Chaibancha, Thai actor (d. 1970)
- 1935 - David Lodge, English author
- 1936 - Ismail Kadare, Albanian writer
- 1936 - Alan Alda, American actor, writer, and director
- 1938 - Leonid Zhabotinsky, Russian weightlifter
- 1941 - Joel Crothers, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1943 - Paul Henderson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1944 - John Tavener, English composer
- 1945 - Robert Wyatt, English musician
- 1948 - Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian dancer
- 1948 - Charles Taylor, President of Liberia
- 1950 - Barbi Benton, American actress
- 1950 - Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah, King of Bahrain
- 1951 - Brian Bilbray, American politician
- 1951 - Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian cosmonaut
- 1953 - Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
- 1954 - Rick Warren, American pastor and author
- 1957 - Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1959 - Randi Rhodes, American personality
- 1959 - Dave Sharp, Welsh guitarist (The Alarm)
- 1959 - Frank Darabont, American filmmaker
- 1960 - Robert von Dassanowsky, American cultural historian, writer, and producer
- 1961 - Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1962 - Sam Phillips, American singer
- 1963 - Dan Spitz, American musician, guitarist for Anthrax
- 1965 - Lynda Boyd, American actress
- 1968 - Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1968 - DJ Muggs, American musician (Cypress Hill)
- 1968 - Rakim, American rapper
- 1969 - Kathryn Morris, American actress
- 1969 - Linda Sanchez, American politician
- 1969 - Mo Rocca, American writer and comedian
- 1970 - Adeyinka Owodunni, Nigerian Banker
- 1972 - Nicky Southall, English footballer
- 1974 - Tony Delk, American basketball player
- 1974 - Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
- 1974 - Magglio Ordonez, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1975 - David Zingler, American writer
- 1975 - Anne Montminy, Canadian Olympic diver
- 1975 - Lee Latchford-Evans, English singer
- 1975 - Junior Spivey, American baseball player
- 1975 - Terri Colombino, American Actress
- 1976 - Mark Madsen, American basketball player
- 1976 - Jarrod Montague, American drummer (Taproot)
- 1976 - Lee Ingleby, British actor
- 1976 - Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
- 1976 - Emiko Kado, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 1999)
- 1977 - Daunte Culpepper, American football player
- 1977 - Joey Fatone, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1977 - Matt DeVries, American guitarist (Chimaira)
- 1977 - Takuma Sato, Japanese Formula One driver
- 1978 - Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
- 1978 - Jamie Carragher, English footballer
- 1978 - Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
- 1979 - Pixie, English model
- 1979 - Ali Boulala, Swedish skateboarder
- 1980 - Nick Carter, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
- 1981 - Rick Razzano, American football player
- 1981 - Elijah Wood, American actor
- 1984 - Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
- 1986 - Jessica Ennis, English heptathlete
- 1991 - Andrew Brigode, cool cat of sonoma
Deaths
- 814 - Charlemagne (b. 742)
- 1061 - Duke Spytihněv II of Bohemia (b. 1031)
- 1271 - Isabella of Aragon, queen of Philip III of France (b. 1247)
- 1443 - Robert le Maçon, Chancellor of France
- 1547 - King Henry VIII of England (b. 1491)
- 1596 - Sir Francis Drake, English explorer and soldier
- 1599 - Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian composer (b. 1547)
- 1613 - Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and library founder (b. 1545)
- 1621 - Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
- 1681 - Richard Allestree, English royalist churchman (b. 1619)
- 1672 - Pierre Séguier, Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
- 1687 - Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer (b. 1611)
- 1697 - John Fenwick, English conspirator
- 1725 (O.S.) - Tsar Peter I of Russia, (b. 1672)
- 1754 - Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian historian and writer (b. 1684)
- 1832 - Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
- 1859 - Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
- 1864 - Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (b. 1799)
- 1903 - Augusta Holmès, French composer (b. 1847)
- 1912 - Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist (b. 1819)
- 1915 - Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist (b. 1846)
- 1918 - John McCrae, Canadian poet (b. 1872)
- 1935 - Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer (b. 1859)
- 1937 - Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and shooter (b. 1862)
- 1938 - Bernd Rosemeyer, German racecar driver (b. 1909)
- 1939 - William Butler Yeats, Irish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1865)
- 1949 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
- 1950 - Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician (b. 1883)
- 1951 - Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, president of Finland (b.1867)
- 1953 - James Scullin, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
- 1953 - Derek Bentley (b. 1933) (executed)
- 1960 - Zora Neale Hurston, American author (b. 1891)
- 1963 - Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
- 1965 - Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
- 1965 - Maxime Weygand, French soldier (b. 1867)
- 1971 - Donald Winnicott, British psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
- 1973 - John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
- 1983 - Billy Fury, English singer.
- 1983 - Frank Forde, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
- 1986 - Crew of Space Shuttle Challenger:
- Greg Jarvis (b. 1944)
- Christa McAuliffe (b. 1948)
- Ronald McNair (b. 1950)
- Ellison Onizuka (b. 1946)
- Judith Resnik (b. 1949)
- Francis R. Scobee (b. 1939)
- Michael J. Smith (b. 1945)
- 1988 - Klaus Fuchs, German physicist (b. 1911)
- 1991 - Red Grange, American football player (b. 1903)
- 1994 - Hal Smith, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1996 - Joseph Brodsky, Russian-born poet, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1940)
- 1996 - Jerry Siegel, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- 1996 - Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist (b. 1911)
- 1999 - Markey Robinson, Irish painter (b. 1918)
- 1999 - Torgny T:son Segerstedt, Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)
- 2001 - Curt Blefary, American baseball player (b. 1943)
- 2002 - Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author (b. 1907)
- 2004 - Lloyd M. Bucher, U.S. Navy officer (b. 1927)
- 2004 - Don Cholito, Puerto Rican radio host (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Elroy Hirsch, American football player (b. 1923)
- 2004 - Don Stansauk, American professional wrestler (b. 1936)
- 2004 - Joe Viterelli, American actor (b. 1937)
- 2005 - Jim Capaldi, English singer and songwriter (b. 1944)
- 2005 - Karen Lancaume, French actress (suicide) (b. 1973)
- 2005 - Jacques Villeret, French actor (b. 1951)
- 2006 - Yitzchak Kaduri, rabbi (b. around 1900)
- 2006 - Henry McGee, English comedian (b. 1929)
- 2007 - Carlo Clerici, Swiss professional road racing cyclist (b. 1929)
- 2007 - Father Robert Drinan, Roman Catholic Priest and American politician (b. 1920)
- 2007 - Karel Svoboda, Czech composer of popular music (b. 1938)
- 2007 - Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese actress (b. 1978)
- 2007 - Yelena Romanova, Russian athlete (b. 1963)
- 2007 - Emma Tillman, the world's oldest living person from January 24-28, 2007
Holidays and observances
- Catholicism - Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas
- World Leprosy Day
- January 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Ashura